Social Change in Future Selves:

A Portrait of Youths’ Views of Themselves in Adult Caring Roles

Joanna R. Pepin

University of Toronto

Melissa A. Milkie

University of Toronto

Contributions

norms + structure 

young adulthood Elder (2018); Mannheim (1952)

caregiving ambitions Bear 2019

contribution: views of future self.
interested in adolescents’ positivity in how they foresee their adulthood.
guess their potential as good spouses, parents, and workers
<click>
We argue future selves are shaped by:
structural contexts (rising inequality + anxiety + WFA + tech + globalization)
societal norms & values (SDT + intensive parenting) influence aspirations
<click>
young adulthood for “imprinting” the future
understandings of who they are, their motivation toward taking steps to fulfill goals, and their health and wellbeing
<click>
caregiving ambition framework proposes that motivation to give care, across a variety of contexts and over the lifespan, are central to understanding life goals and ultimately behavior
often think of caring for child or someone with a disability.
we argue should expand to include caring for one’s spouse
and in-direct caregiving through monetary support
look at caregiving in 3 roles: spouse, parent, worker

Research Questions

Are there changes in youths’ views of their future selves as spouses, parents, and workers?

Do these projected future selves vary by gender?

Nationally representative sample of U.S. 12th-graders
N = 99,399

These next questions ask you to guess how well you might do in several different situations. How good do you think you would be as a:

Response options:

Variable	Overall N = 99,399 (100%)	Men N = 47,369 (48%)	Women N = 52,030 (52%)
Mom completed college	33%	34%	31%
Race identity
White	71%	73%	70%
Black	11%	9.4%	12%
Another race	18%	18%	18%
Region
Northeast	20%	19%	20%
Midwest	27%	27%	27%
South	34%	34%	34%
West	19%	19%	19%

expectations of ‘very good’ spouse & parent increased for both for first 30 survey years
increases were steeper for young men than young women (p <.001).
gender gap largest in the mid 1970s & 1980s and narrowed over time.
In 2000s, ‘very good’ as a spouse or parent decreased for both young men and young women.
mid-2000s, increasingly likely to expect to be “good” or, to a lesser extent, “fairly good” spouse or parent.
‘very good’ worker showed different patterns for young men compared with young women.
About 65% of young men expected “very good” worker across all the survey years.
young women’s “very good” worker increased from 55% in 1976 to 68% by 2004, surpassing the proportions for young men.
young women’s expectations dropped thereafter, diminishing to 62% by 2023.

Very few expected to be “poor” or “not so good” in all three adult roles across the survey years

Joanna R. Pepin
University of Toronto

Melissa A. Milkie
University of Toronto